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The cities of Maryville and Alcoa announced Monday afternoon they were implementing Phase III of their water reduction plans and several businesses will now have to close their doors.

Under Maryville Phase III provisions, car washing facilities — including convenience stores with car washes — must cease operations. Nurseries, landscaping facilities and other businesses that sell live plants must also cease irrigation.

Another provision is a mandatory daily cutback of at least 5 percent for large industrial customers and large nonresidential/nonhealth-care commercial customers. All of the Phase II provisions are still in effect.

Under Alcoa Phase III provisions, lawn and landscape watering is banned at all times. Washing of vehicles by residents, commercial car washes, dealerships and other businesses is also prohibited. The filling and refilling of swimming pools and hot tubs is prohibited as well.

New landscaping installed prior to Oct. 1 may be eligible for a limited exemption from these restrictions. Customers seeking an exemption may contact the city’s Planning and Codes Department at (865) 380-4730. If the water level continues to decline, these exemptions may be withdrawn.

Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson said in a press release that “(The city of Alcoa appreciates) the cuts in water usage (their) customers have already made. Unfortunately, to further protect our water supply for drinking and other critical uses, the current drought conditions compel us to implement these additional conservation measures.”

These actions come just days after the cities announced their Phase II provisions. Johnson reported the water levels of Little River have dropped to 23 cubic feet per second (cfs). Maryville public information officer Pam Arnett reported Little River water levels have stayed consistent at 38 cfs.

These restrictions will remain in effect until the water flow of Little River improves. The river is the sole source of water for both the cities of Maryville and Alcoa.
Prior to this announcement, employees at two nurseries said they had not been negatively affected by this drought.

Gary Bridenbaugh, owner of Out of Eden Garden Center, 2928 U.S. 411 South, Maryville, said they use a well and pond for irrigation, so they weren’t directly affected. However, he said the water restrictions may have dampened sales because people can’t take their plants home and water them.

Sher Kelly, a nursery assistant at Pope’s Garden Center, 3808 Old Knoxville Highway, Maryville, said droughts “certainly affect nursery businesses but it doesn’t have to be a negative effect.”

Kelly said most of the plants they are currently restocking are low-water tolerance plants. She said she wants people to know they can still garden in this weather.
“It’s just not common knowledge that a bathtub of water goes a long way,” Kelly said. “Most people think they can’t plant flowers if they can’t water them — however, you can plant plenty of things which will grow (under these conditions),” she said.

This landscaping method which employs drought-resistant plants in an effort to conserve resources, especially water, is known as xeriscaping. Kelly says xeriscaping has been a prominent landscaping technique for over 20 years.

One Alcoa car wash owner said her employees were “(doing) everything (they could) to prevent (their car wash from closing).” Kati Pierce, one of the owners of Autowash Express of Alcoa, 220 S. Hall Road, Alcoa, said her staff had taken several steps to further reduce their water consumption.

Pierce said the business had turned off their landscaping irrigation system and high-pressure wheel cleaner, which uses the most water in their wash cycle. She said their employees had replaced the water nozzles with newer smaller units to conserve water. Pierce also said they are in the process of installing water reclamation equipment, which will allow them to use water that previously would have been sent to the sewer.

Car washes are very efficient in the water they use, Pierce said. Car wash owners are always looking for new ways to eliminate water, since it is one of their biggest expenses, she said. The computers that Autowash Express have only use the necessary amount of water to wash a vehicle, Pierce said. For example, a car wash for “a Volkswagen Beetle doesn’t require the same amount of water as a SUV,” Pierce said. She said professional car washes use significantly less water than people who wash their own car.

She thinks “singling out car washes is unfair,” she said. “Other businesses use (comparable amounts or even more) water,” she said.

Pierce noted that restaurants are big users of water. Pierce said a city ordinance classifies car washes as ‘nonessential’ — however, she said “to (the owners) and (their) employees they are essential.” She said she feels that “asking businesses to shut down is an extreme step which will not solve this problem,” because “most water consumption is by residents not businesses.”

“We’re all in this together, so hopefully everybody is trying to conserve water,” Pierce said.

She then said she hopes it rains soon and noted, “It was a strange thing for a car wash (owner) to say.”